LOCAL RADIO STATIONS SWITCH FORMATS

Dance-music radio station WKSV-FM (96.1) changed to a Christian format on Friday. Former Christian-music station WXRI-FM (105.3) that same day began playing beautiful-music tapes during a "testing period."

Both actions were triggered by the sale in January of WXRI from CBN, which had owned the Christian station since 1961, to Cleveland-based Win Communications for $5 million.

On Wednesday night, WXRI - Hampton Roads' only FM-signal Christian station - went off the air.

The station came back on Friday morning with new call letters, WZZL-FM, and a new name, Z-105. The station is playing a tape feed of soft-pop music during a "testing period," the station announced on the air.

Several sources in the radio industry said WZZL eventually will change its format to either a rock or hard-edged adult-contemporary station. Three rock-station veterans have been hired, sources said, and in most markets stations beginning their names with "Z" are rock stations.

Meanwhile, WKSV, formerly known as Kiss 96, hired many of WXRI's Christian-music disc jockeys and Friday began broadcasting gospel hits and Christian favorities, said interim general manager Ray Fowler. CBN has agreed to lend the station its music library and had announced over WXRI on Wednesday that the format would move to WKSV's signal, Fowler said.

WKSV is considering applying to the FCC to have its call letters changed to WXRI, Fowler said.

Kiss 96 went on the air last fall.

"We moved to fill a void," said Fowler, who described his interim job as being sort of a babysitter. "There are no other FM adult-contemporary Christian stations in this market."

In other radio news, Norfolk minister L.E. Willis on Wednesday sold WOWI-FM (102.9), the urban-contemporary station he had owned since 1974. The station was sold for more than $8 million to Philadelphia broadcast executive Ragan A. Henry. Henry, who owns six other stations. He said he planned no changes at WOWI.